HF 

•Tfe 


m 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/commercialcollegOOrichrich 


COMMERCIAL    COLLEGES 
IN   GERMANY 


BY 

DR.  KURT   E.  RICHTER 

I' 

COLLEGE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


NEW  YORK 
1913 


PUBLISHED  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES 

OF   THE 

SPECIAL  COMMITTEE  ON  COMMERCIAL  EDUCATION 

OF  THE 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 


Mortimer  L.  Schiff,  Chairman 
Sereno  S.  Pratt,  Secretary 

Thomas  W.  Lamont 

Lewis  Nixon 

Frank  A.  Vanderlip 

Alexander  C.  Humphreys 

Robert  A.  C.  Smith 

William  Hull  Wickham 


Edward  D.  Adams 
Edward  Holbrook 
Clark  Williams 
J.  Louis  Schaefer 
James  H.  Post 
Lionel  Sutro 


Copyright,  1913 
By  Kurt  E.  Richter 


PREFACE. 

The  following  paper  owes  its  existence  in  a  large  measure  firstly 
to  President  John  H.  Finley  of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  who  by  his  kind  interest  greatly  encouraged  the  writer  in 
making  an  extended  study  of  the  commercial  colleges  in  Germany, 
Switzerland  and  Paris  during  the  summer  of  1912;  secondly  to 
Professor  Walter  E.  Clark,  also  of  the  same  College,  who  by  his 
valuable  suggestions  as  to  form  and  subject  matter  was  instru- 
mental in  changing  this  paper  from  a  meagre  report  to  its  present 
form.  The  writer  takes  pleasure  in  expressing  his  sincere  grati- 
tude to  these  two  gentlemen. 

Grateful  mention  must  furthermore  be  made  of  the  extra- 
ordinary courtesies  received  at  the  hands  of  the  directors  of  the 
several  commercial  colleges,  notably  of  Director  Christian  Eckert, 
Dr.  phil.  et  jur.  of  Cologne,  Professor  Dr.  B.  Freudenthal  and 
Professor  Dr.  F.  Panzer,  both  of  Frankfort,  and  Privy  Councillor 
Professor  Dr.  Georg  Kerschensteiner,  Royal  Councillor  of  Studies, 
city  school  commissioner  and  president  of  the  "Kuratorium" 
of  the  Commercial  College  in  Munich.  They  have  not  only  sup- 
plied the  writer  with  all  desired  information  and  latest  material, 
but  also  have  permitted  him  to  enjoy  unexpected  privileges  which 
have  been  a  source  of  great  pleasure  and  benefit. 

K.  E.  R. 

College  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
January,  1913. 


Ill 


311501 


CONTENTS. 

Page 

1.  Founding  of  Commercial  Colleges i 

2.  Commercial  Colleges  in  Germany 4 

3.  Nature,  Function  and  Aim 7 

4.  Financial  Support 9 

(a)  Fees  9 

(b)  Subsidy  from  City  and  State 11 

(c)  Endowments  and  Contributions  12 

5.  Government  and  Control 15 

6.  Entrance  Requirements  18 

7.  Curriculum   23 

8.  Courses,  Experimentations  and  Diplomas 30 

9.  Educational  Tours 33 

10.  Conclusion 36 


I.  FOUNDING  OF  COMMERCIAL  COLLEGES. 

No  intelligent,  thinking  man  to-day  will  deny  the  desirability  of 
special  higher  education  and  training  for  a  business  man,  who 
wishes  to  rise  from  the  rank  and  file  of  the  "  office  force  "  to  an 
executive  position  in  "  his  line."  The  complexity  of  business  re- 
lations and  the  variety  of  problems  that  confront  the  modern  bus- 
iness man  are  such,  that  "  office  training  "  exclusively  will  in  the 
near  future  no  longer  suffice.  Just  as  the  pursuits  of  law,  medi- 
cine, teaching,  engineering,  all  have  become  scientific  professions, 
so  is  the  successful  pursuit  of  business  inevitably  becoming  a 
scientific  profession.  And  just  as  the  other  professions  neces- 
sitate broad  preliminary  training,  followed  by  thorough  profes- 
sional courses,  so  does  the  profession  of  business  demand  a  liberal 
and  technical  preparation. 

Our  so-called  business  schools  have  given  and  are  still  giving 
more  or  less  efficient  preparation  for  office  work,  the  "  mechanics  " 
of  business.  Public  commercial  high  schools  have  likewise  taken 
over  some  of  that  same  work.  Higher  training  has  been  offered 
by  colleges  and  universities  only.  However,  as  the  fees  exacted 
by  the  latter  for  such  courses  are  often  rather  high,  many  able 
and  ambitious  young  men  are  debarred  from  availing  themselves 
of  the  opportunity  to  improve  their  efficiency  and  chances  for 
success. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Europe,  with  its  venerable  institu- 
tions of  learning  and  highly  developed  commercial  life,  felt  the 
need  for  higher  education  for  business  men  sooner  than  America 
did.  Early  in  the  fifties  of  the  last  century  continental  leaders 
in  education  were  advocating  the  establishment  of  commercial  col- 
leges. In  a  report  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Cologne, 
written  in  1855  by  Gustav  von  Mevissen,  the  subsequent  finan- 
cial founder  of  the  commercial  college  in  that  city,  the  writer 
expresses  his  conviction  firstly,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  business 
world  to  devote  part  of  its  surplus  to  the  advancement  and  dis- 
semination of  knowledge ;  secondly,  that  such  surplus  would  most 
advantageously  be  devoted  to  the  higher  education  of  business 
men.  However,  such  ideas  received  but  little  response,  being  too 
far  in  advance  of  the  thought  of  that  time,  and  these  efforts  were 


.   '    /     '  «    *     •   »    *•   m      • 

'      -,  .     'o       e    •*'    •     e, 

.".  \  •  'J  "'t  -*••*!; ;    •  A  **'* 

2  •'"•^^  V'-'-i^MMERClAi:   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 

defeated  partly  by  the  indifference  of  business  men  and  partly  by 
the  classical  traditions  of  the  older  institutions  of  learning. 

It  was  in  the  New  World  and  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  that  higher  commercial  education  really  began. 
The  University  of  Pennsylvania  was  the  pioneer,  establishing  in 
1881  the  "  Wharton  School  of  Finance  and  Commerce,"  which  in 
its  scope  of  work  covers  a  large  part  of  the  field  of  a  commercial 
college.  A  similar  institution  was  founded  in  connection  with  the 
University  of  California  in  August,  1898,  leading  to  the  degree  of 
B.S.  One  month  later,  in  September,  1898,  the  University  of 
Chicago  also  organized  such  a  school,  leading  to  the  degree  of 
B.Ph.  These  examples  were  followed  by  New  York  University 
in  1900,  by  Columbia  University  in  1901,  and  by  the  Northwest- 
ern University,  the  Universities  of  Illinois,  of  Indiana,  and  of 
Michigan,  all  of  which  established  in  1902  advanced  commercial 
courses,  leading  to  the  bachelor's  degree.  At  present  there  are 
but  few  of  the  larger  universities,  that  have  not  responded  to  the 
demand  for  higher  business  training  and  can  not  boast  of  such  a 
school.  A  real  "  graduate  school "  is  found  in  the  Harvard  Grad- 
uate School  of  Business  Administration  established  in  1908,  and 
in  a  measure  also  in  the  Amos  Tuck  School  of  Administration 
and  Finance,  established  in  1900  and  connected  with  Dartmouth 
College,  which  aim  to  train  college  graduates  who  desire  to  en- 
gage in  business  and  public  affairs. 

By  a  commercial  college  in  the  American  sense  we  understand 
an  institution  which  is  similar  to  a  college  of  arts  and  science  in 
three  respects:  firstly,  it  has  the  same  entrance  requirements; 
secondly,  it  affords  the  same  mental  discipline  and  cultural  train- 
ing; thirdly,  it  leads  to  a  baccalaureate  degree.  The  difference 
between  the  ordinary  business  school  and  the  commercial  college 
is  as  fundamental  as  that  between  an  elementary  school  and  a 
college  of  arts  and  science,  since  studying  the  rudiments  and 
routine  of  business  occupations  is  profoundly  different  from 
studying  the  sciences  relating  to  industrial  and  commercial  life, 
the  social,  political,  economic,  and  physical  phenomena,  which 
have  a  direct  bearing  and  influence  upon  the  status  of  business. 
The  mastery  of  such  sciences  is  indeed  as  difficult  as  is  the  mas- 
tery of  any  subjects  in  the  usual  college  or  university  curriculum 
of  liberal  arts.  It  is  not  surprising  then  that  the  German  insti- 
tutions of  higher  commercial  study  at  present  generally  take  the 
rank  of  a  "  Hochschule,"  a  college  or  university,  and  therefore 


FOUNDING  OF  COMMERCIAL  COLLEGES.  3 

require  of  the  entering  student  the  same  previous  training  as  re- 
quired for  entrance  to  any  other  university  courses.  In  fact,  in 
Frankfort  (as  in  Cologne),  where  there  is  no  local  university 
for  post-graduate  work  at  present,  we  find  that  the  commercial 
college  practically  performs  the  service  of  a  local  university. 
For  here  we  find  that  the  cultural  courses,  such  as  philosophy, 
philology,  psychology,  literature,  etc.,  are  quite  as  much  in  demand 
as  are  the  specifically  commercial  courses.  The  former  are  given 
in  the  form  of  public  lectures,  usually  delivered  in  the  evening,  to 
which  also  "  auditors  "  are  admitted,  namely  persons  who  are  not 
matriculated  students  but  inhabitants  of  the  city,  who  have  ob- 
tained the  right  of  hearing  the  lectures  by  having  purchased  an 
admission  card  which  can  be  had  for  a  very  small  fee.  The  large 
attendance  of  "  auditors  "  at  these  cultural  lectures  in  the  com- 
mercial college  of  Frankfort  will  no  doubt  be  diminished,  when  the 
present  year  will  bring  to  that  city  a  fully  organized  university,  to 
which  noble  purpose  ex-mayor  Dr.  F.  Adickes  has  devoted  many 
years  of  untiring  and  energetic  efforts. 


2.  COMMERCIAL  COLLEGES  IN  GERMANY. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  Germany  is  found  in  the  front  rank 
in  the  excellency  and  efficiency  of  vocational  and  commercial  edu- 
cational institutions  and  in  the  high  quality  of  work  performed 
in  these  schools.  The  graduates  of  the  commercial  colleges  have 
proved  themselves  to  be  so  efficient  in  the  business  life  of  the 
nation,  that  it  is  usual  to  attribute  the  enormous  progress  that 
Germany  has  made  in  commerce  and  industry  within  the  last  de- 
cade to  her  splendidly  organized  system  of  commercial  education. 
Every  city  of  consequence  has  its  commercial  schools  and  high 
schools,  whilst  each  of  six  different  cities  has  its  prosperous  com- 
mercial college. 

Increasing  prosperity  shortly  before  the  beginning  of  the  twen- 
tieth century  occasioned  plans  for  the  founding  of  commercial 
colleges  in  several  European  cities.  The  year  1898  (the  birth 
year  of  the  commercial  colleges  in  California  and  Chicago)  wit- 
nessed the  organizing  of  three  such  institutions  of  higher  rank, 
one  in  Vienna,  another  in  Leipzic,  and  a  third  in  Aix-la-Chapelle 
( Aachen ).t  Five  other  cities  in  Germany  soon  followed  the 
example  of  Leipzic,  viz. : 

Leipzig  1898  Berlin   1906 

Cologne   1901  (May  i )         Mannheim  1908 

Frankfort  o/M 1901  (Oct.  21)       Munich 1910 

That  there  existed  an  actual  and  growing  demand  for  such 
schools  can  be  seen  by  their  slow  but  steady  growth.  As  a  typical 
example  of  all  these  schools  the  statistics  of  the  Cologne  college 
may  be  cited : 

Matriculated  Students  at  Cologne  Commercial  College. 

1.  Semester.  Summer  Sem.*  1901    68  Mat.  Students 

2.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*     1901/02    119 

3.  Semester.  Summer  Sem.*  1902   146 

4.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*     1902/03    198 

5.  Semester.  Summer  Sem.*  1903    221 

6.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*     1903/04    232 

t  The  institution  in  Aachen  later  was  abandoned  for  reasons  which  were 
entirely  local. 

4 


COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES  IN   GERMANY.  5 

7.  Semester.    Summer  Sem*  1904   238 

8.  Semester.    Winter  Sem.*    1904/05    252 

9.  Semester.    Summer  Sem.*  1905   264 

10.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*    1905/06   304 

11.  Semester.  Summer  Sem.*  1906   331 

12.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*    1906/07    331 

13.  Semester.  Summer  Sem.*  1907   330 

14.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*     1907/08    363 

15.  Semester.  Summer  Sem.*  1908   389 

16.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*     1908/09    408 

17.  Semester.  Summer  Sem.*  1909   441 

18.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*     1909/10    460 

19.  Semester.  Summer  Sem.*  1910   462 

20.  Semester.  Winter  Sem.*    1910/11    470 

In  addition  to  these  matriculated  students,  working  for  the 
regular  diploma,  there  were  many  more  non-matriculated  students 
or  auditors,  who  registered  for  various  courses,  giving  advanced 
instruction  in  specific  branches  of  knowledge.  A  few  figures  may 
suffice  to  show  how  such  courses  are  frequented : 

Total  Number  of  Students  at  Cologne  Commercial  College. 


I.  Sem.,  S.  S.,  1901  , 

10.  Sem.,  W.  S.,  i905-'o6 

17.  Sem.,  S.  S.,  1909 , 

18.  Sem.,W.  S.,  i909-'io. 

19.  Sem.,  S.  S.,  1910 , 

20.  Sem.,  W.  S.,  i9io-'ii. 


Matr.  Stud.  Non-matr.  Stud. 


69 
304 
441 
460 
462 
470 


695 
1,470 

807 
1,872 

1,832 


Total. 


763 
1,776 
1,248 
2,332 

1,315 
2,302 


It  is  natural  to  expect  a  smaller  number  of  non-matriculated 
students  during  the  summer  semesters,  as  above  table  clearly 
shows,  but  the  number  of  regular  or  matriculated  students  has 
constantly  been  increasing. 

The  attendance  of  matriculated  students  at  the  six  commercial 
colleges  during  the  winter  semester  191 1  to  1912  may  be  tabulated 
as  follows: 


Leipzic   663  matriculated  students 

Cologne   500  matriculated  students 

Frankfort  o/M   376  matriculated  students 

Berlin  475  matriculated  students 

Mannheim  450  matriculated  students 

Munich 103  matriculated  students 

*  The  summer  semester  begins  middle  of  April  and  extends  to  the  end 
of  July,  the  winter  semester  lasts  from  end  of  October  to  the  end  of  March. 


6  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES  IN  GERMANY. 

Besides  these  matriculated  students  each  college  has  a  very 
large  number  of  non-matriculated  students,  as  shown  for  Cologne 
in  the  detailed  statistics  given  above.  During  the  last  winter 
semester  Frankfort  reported  1,407  such,  making  a  total  of  1,783 
students  in  attendance,  Berlin  with  1,093  non-matriculated  stu- 
dents recorded  a  total  of  1,568,  whereas  Munich  last  winter 
(hence  in  its  second  season!)  numbered  a  total  of  511  students. 

An  item  of  interest  is  the  proportion  of  foreign  students  in 
these  colleges.  Leipzic  and  Berlin  lead  in  this  respect,  non-Ger- 
man students  constituting  54  per  cent,  of  the  matriculated  stu- 
dents at  Leipzic  and  51  per  cent,  of  those  at  Berlin.  The  other 
colleges  register  a  relatively  small  number  of  foreign  students. 
Cologne  for  instance  has  but  19  per  cent,  foreigners  in  its  total 
of  matriculated  students. 


3.  NATURE,  FUNCTION  AND  AIM. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  these  colleges  are  ranked  with  the  "  Hoch- 
schulen,"  or  universities,  of  the  country.  Like  these  they  adhere 
to  the  classical  maxim  of  "  Lehr-  und  Lemfreiheit,"  viz.,  the  pro- 
fessors are  at  liberty  to  offer  any  course  or  courses  which  in  their 
opinion  may  be  helpful,  or  for  which  there  is  a  demand.  On  the 
other  hand  the  students  may  arrange  their  programs  of  lectures 
entirely  at  their  own  pleasure,  provided  that  those  who  work  for 
diplomas  pursue  certain  fundamental  courses  required  in  the  ex- 
aminations for  such  diplomas.  These  courses,  examinations  and 
diplomas  will  be  discussed  later.  Here  it  may  suffice  to  state  that 
beyond  these  fundamental  courses  the  student,  in  true  university 
fashion,  may  lay  out  his  plans  to  his  own  advantage  and  may 
hear  any  lectures  which  will  bear  upon  his  future  work  in  bus- 
iness life. 

This  university  spirit  furthermore  asserts  itself  in  the  organ- 
izing of  academic  students'  societies  or  fraternities,  bearing  Latin 
names.  The  members  of  these  fraternities,  like  those  in  the  older 
sister-institutions,  wear  the  insignia  of  their  particular  societies 
in  the  form  of  colored  caps  and  bandeliers. 

In  Cologne,  for  example,  we  find  the  following  fraternities: 
Hansea,  Salia,  Ubia,  Arminia  and  Rheno-Frankonia.  But  it 
must  be  added  that  these  younger  fraternities  in  the  commercial 
colleges  are  not  recognized  fully  by  the  older  organizations  in  the 
universities. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  what  is  the  aim  of  these  colleges? 
This  can  not  be  answered  by  a  general  statement,  fitting  all  six 
institutions,  since  each  one  is  a  child  of  its  environment  and 
conditions. 

The  general  task  of  these  commercial  colleges  is  to  teach  the 
social  and  economic  sciences  in  their  direct  and  indirect  bearing 
upon  all  business  pursuits,  that  is  to  say,  upon  all  commercial 
activities  that  have  hitherto  been  so  sharply  differentiated  from 
the  "professions." 

These  institutions  therefore  are  devoted  both  to  investigation 
and  teaching.  "  The  teachers  must  be  permeated  with  the  desire 
to  seek  the  truth  and  to  impart  it  to  the  eager  and  ambitious 
youth."     (Professor  Doctor  Christian  Eckert,  Cologne.) 

7 


8  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 

Studying  the  curricula  of  these  colleges  later  on,  we  shall  see 
how  this  noble  aim  is  reached,  and  how  these  institutions  empha- 
size broad  cultural  training  quite  as  much  as  professional,  tech- 
nical training. 

The  special  tasks  can  be  enumerated  as  follows : 

A.  To  give  to  young  people,  who  desire  to  devote  themselves  to 

commercial  or  industrial  pursuits,  a  more  thorough  train- 
ing and  deeper,  but  not  narrower  education  in  commercial 
and  economic  subjects,  than  other  colleges  give; 

B.  To  train  efficient  teachers  of  theory  and  practice  of  commer- 

cial branches ; 

C.  To  offer  an  opportunity  to  merchants  and  men  of  industry, 

actively  engaged  in  business,  to  deepen  and  widen  their 
knowledge  in  special  branches  of  commerce  and  industry ; 

D.  To  give  municipal  and  government  officials  opportunity  to  per- 

fect themselves  in  their  special  work; 

E.  To  teach   the   language,   customs,   commercial   history   and 

methods  of  those  foreign  countries  which  play  an  im- 
portant role  in  the  world's  trade. 

This  means  no  more  nor  less,  that  the  doors  of  these  colleges 
are  open  to  anyone,  old  or  young,  either  fully  prepared  to  take 
the  entire  course,  or  only  prepared  to  take  certain  courses  for 
special  purposes.  This  was  clearly  seen  in  above  statistics,  show- 
ing the  number  of  matriculated  and  the  much  larger  number  of 
non-matriculated  students. 

Matriculated  students,  with  object  A  or  B  m  view,  must  nec- 
essarily have  the  required  previous  academic  training,  since  they 
expect  to  obtain  the  official  diploma  of  the  college.  But  students 
of  group  C  are  men  active  in  business  life,  who  do  not  work  for 
credit,  but  whose  desire  is  to  increase  their  knowledge  in  their 
own  branch  of  business.  These  are  permitted  to  study  certain 
sciences,  or  certain  economic  phases  which  are  allied  with  their 
own  business.  In  all  groups  we  find  municipal  and  state  officials, 
employed  in  the  departments  of  finance,  statistics,  parks,  engi- 
neering, consular  service,  foreign  relations,  etc.  Such  public 
employees  thus  have  an  opportunity  to  perfect  themselves,  and  to 
increase  their  efficiency,  and  thereby  to  improve  their  prospect 
of  success. 


4.  FINANCIAL  SUPPORT. 

A  study  of  the  origin  of  commercial  colleges  in  Germany  will 
show  that  the  initiative  for  the  founding  of  the  six  institutions 
came  either  from  individuals,  as  in  the  case  of  Cologne  col- 
lege, or  from  merchants'  associations  (as  in  BerHn  and  Munich), 
or  from  chambers  of  commerce  (as  in  Leipzic),  or  from  com- 
binations of  these  (as  in  Frankfort  and  Mannheim).  And  not 
only  did  the  initiative  come  from  these  sources,  but  also  the  nec- 
essary funds,  wherewith  to  found  the  desired  institutions  and  to 
carry  on  their  work.  Hence  we  find  the  interesting  and  some- 
what unique  situation  (unique  for  Germany)  that  these  colleges 
possess  but  a  semi-official  character,  viz.,  they  are  partly  private 
institutions,  having  been  founded  and  being  supported  largely  by 
private  funds,  and  at  the  same  time  they  are  public  institutions, 
receiving  a  subvention  from  the  state,  or  city,  or  both.  They 
have  therefore  three  sources  of  income: 

(a)  Fees  from  students; 

(b)  A  regular  subsidy  from  city  or  state  or  both; 

(c)  Endowments  and  annual  contributions  from  private  sources, 

such  as  individuals,  merchants'  associations,  or  chambers 
of  commerce. 

(a)  Fees  from  Students. 

Examining  the  first  of  these,  we  find  that  the  fees  charged 
for  the  various  courses  are  but  small.  The  matriculation  fee 
in  nearly  all  the  commercial  colleges,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
subsequent  table,  is  $5  for  native  German  students,  except  in 
Frankfort,  where  no  matriculation  fee  is  charged.  For  foreign 
students  however  this  fee  varies  in  the  different  cities  from  $5  to 
$25.  The  same  discrimination  against  foreigners  is  made  in  the 
tuition  fee.  Whereas  the  native  German  student  pays  approx- 
imately $30  per  semester,  the  foreign  student  must  pay  from  $45 
to  $60 — an  increase  of  from  50  per  cent,  to  100  per  cent.  This 
discrimination,  however,  finds  a  justification  in  the  fact  that  these 
institutions  receive  a  large  subsidy  from  the  state,  which  subsidy 
is  obtained  from  the  general  tax  fund,  collected  from  the  German 
subjects.     Hence  the  native  student  contributes  to  the  mainte- 

9 


10  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 

nance  of  the  institution  which  he  attends  firstly  indirectly,  by  pay- 
ing taxes,  and  again  directly,  by  paying  tuition  fees.  On  the  other 
hand  the  foreign  student  does  not  contribute  in  that  indirect  way, 
hence  this  discrepancy  is  expected  to  be  removed  by  the  increased 
fees  for  matriculation  and  tuition. 

A  notable  exception  is  made  by  the  commercial  college  in 
Frankfort,  where  no  discrimination  is  made  between  native  and 
foreign  students  and  where  no  annual  tuition  fee  is  charged. 
This  institution  has  adopted  the  university  method  of  charging  a 
fee  for  each  course.  Hence  for  a  two  hour  course  (two  hours 
per  week)  a  fee  of  $2.50  per  semester  is  paid.  Every  matricu- 
lated student  however  must  enroll  for  at  least  eight  hours  per 
week,  thus  making  the  minimum  tuition  fee  $10  per  semester,  or 
$20  annually,  which  compares  rather  favorably  with  the  fees 
charged  by  American  universities. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  that  in  addition  to  these  matriculation 
and  tuition  fees,  each  regular  student  is  required  to  contribute  a 
small  amount  to  a  general  *' Academic  Sick  Fund,"  and  also  to 
an  "Accident  Fund."  Although  the  premiums  are  relatively 
small,  the  benefits  derived  from  these  funds  are  comparatively 
large. 

The  "Academic  Sick  Fund"  has  the  object  of  giving  to  all 
students,  in  case  of  sickness  during  their  stay  at  the  college,  free 
medical  treatment  by  some  of  the  best  physicians  in  the  city, 
free  nursing  and  medicine,  and  if  necessary  free  admission  and 
treatment  in  a  municipal  hospital  extending  over  a  period  of  8  to 
13  weeks,  the  'time  varying  in  the  different  cities.  This  "  Sick 
Fund  "  is  commonly  managed  under  the  supervision  of  the  entire 
college  "  Senat "  or  "  Kuratorium  "  by  a  committee  consisting  of 
members  of  the  faculty  and  representatives  of  the  students. 

The  "Accident  Fund"  is  to  pay  the  premiums  for  a  general 
or  blanket  policy  held  by  a  national  insurance  company.  The  latter 
holds  itself  liable  for  any  injuries  caused  by  accidents  to  students 
while  performing  their  duties  as  students,  or  during  legitimate 
recreation.  This  excludes  duels,  brawls,  and  similar  affairs  that 
may  lead  to  injuries. 

Tabulating  the  fees,  which  are  exacted  from  students  who  are 
candidates  for  a  diploma,  we  obtain  the  following: 


FINANCIAL   SUPPORT. 


II 


Fees  Charged  in  Commercial  Colleges  in  Germany. 


Matriculation. 


Ger- 


Non-Ger. 


Per  Semester. 


Tuition. 


German. 


Non-Ger. 


Academic 
Sick  Fund. 


Academic 

Accident 

Fund. 


Leipzic 

Cologne.  .. 
Frankfort.. 

Berlin 

Mannheim 
Munich 


M.  20 

M.  20 
None 
M.  30 
M.  20 
M.  20 


M.  100 

M.    40 
None 
M.    60 
M.    30 
M.    40 


M.  100  to  120 


M.  125       I    M.  250 
Minimum  M.  80 


M.  125 
M.  120 
M.  125 


M.  250 
M.  180 
M.  250 


Ger.  M.       2 

For.  M.  5 
M.  3.50 

M.  3 

M.  5 

M.  3 

M.  2 


No  special 
fund 
M.  I 
M.  .50 
M.  I 
M.  I 
M.  .50 


In  addition  to  the  regular  fees  tabulated  above  which  every 
student  must  pay,  extra  charges  are  made  for  specially  extensive 
laboratory  courses.  For  example,  the  Frankfort  college  offers  in 
its  curriculum  (see  page  28)  several  such  courses  in  different  sub- 
jects. For  a  "short"  laboratory  course,  of  8  hours  per  week, 
a  fee  of  M.  40  is  exacted,  whilst  for  a  "half-day"  laboratory 
course,  lasting  from  9  A.M.  to  i  P.M.  daily,  M.  90  are  charged. 
For  a  "  full"  course,  lasting  from  9  A.M.  to  7  P.M.  daily  (with 
I  hr.  free  for  dinner)  and  on  Saturday  from  9  A.M.  to  i  P.M., 
M.  120  must  be  paid. 

Finally,  the  last  fee  which  a  matriculated  student  must  pay, 
and  which  he  pays  most  cheerfully,  is  the  fee  for  the  final  ex- 
aminations. As  there  are  no  examinations  held  in  the  different 
courses  at  the  end  of  the  semester  or  of  the  academic  year,  the 
final  and  only  examinations,  those  for  the  diploma,  are  rather 
formal  and  elaborate  affairs,  as  will  be  seen  later.  Since  they 
demand  a  great  deal  of  time  on  the  part  of  the  college  faculty  it 
is  but  natural  that  the  charges  for  these  examinations  are  rather 
high.  Whilst  a  native  German  student  pays  M.  60,  the  foreign 
student  pays  M.  100  in  Leipzic,  and  even  M.  120  in  the  other  com- 
mercial colleges. 

In  case  of  failure  this  fee  is  forfeited  and  if  the  student  desires 
to  try  again  after  one  or  two  more  semesters  of  continuous  and 
close  application  to  his  studies,  he  must  pay  the  entire  examination 
fee  again. 

(b)  Subsidy  from  City  or  State  or  Both. 

The  second  source  of  financial  support  is  the  city  and  the 
state.     It  is  customary  that  the  former,  namely  the  city,  supplies 


12  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 

the  buildings  for  the  college,  furnishes  the  necessary  funds  for 
maintaining  them  in  good  order,  and  gives  securities  for  possible 
deficits,  whereas  the  state  makes  an  annual  contribution. 

Since  the  founding  of  the  commercial  college  in  1898,  the  city 
council  of  Leipzic  has  regularly  increased  the  annual  revenue  of 
the  college  by  voting  it  a  large  sum  of  money,  which  during  the 
last  fiscal  year  amounted  to  M.  10,000,  whilst  the  state,  the  King- 
dom of  Saxony,  contributed  M.  15,000. 

In  Cologne  we  find,  that,  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  col- 
lege, the  city  assumed  all  financial  responsibility,  and  augmented 
the  original  foundation  fund  of  M.  740,000,  given  by  Gustav  von 
Mevissen,  by  the  sum  of  M.  260,000,  in  order  to  increase  this 
fund  to  M.  1,000,000.  In  addition  to  this  fund,  the  city  council 
voted  the  following  sums  to  the  running  expenses  of  the  college: 

1901  M.  49,890  =:  38.96  per  cent,  of  total  income 

1902  31,638  =  20.16  per  cent,  of  total  income 

1903  25,841  =  15.01  per  cent,  of  total  income 

1904  54,561=26.19  per  cent,  of  total  income 

1905  61,689  =  27.57  per  cent  of  total  income 

1906  53,630=^23.10  per  cent,  of  total  income 

1907  86,090  =  31.88  per  cent  of  total  income 

1908  88,445  =  29.53  per  cent  of  total  income 

1909  89,426  =  27.90  per  cent  of  total  income 

It  is  unnecessary  to  heap  the  examples.  It  may  suffice  to  state 
that  what  has  been  said  above  concerning  the  participation  of  the 
city  in  the  financial  support  of  the  college  in  Cologne  and  Leipzic 
also  holds  true  for  the  other  colleges,  each  of  which  receives  a 
subsidy  from  its  respective  home  city. 

(c)'  Endowments  and  Contributions. 

The  third  and  indeed  the  most  important  source  of  income 
is  comprised  of  endowments,  bequests  and  contributions  from 
individuals  or  merchants'  associations.  As  stated  above,  not  only 
did  the  initiative  for  founding  the  colleges  come  from  these 
sources,  but  also  the  funds  for  establishing  and  maintaining  them 
have  been  procured  largely  from  them. 

It  was  due  to  the  insistent  demand  for  higher  commercial  edu- 
cation, made  by  the  prosperous  mercantile  and  industrial  classes, 
whose  opinions  were  crystallized  in  those  of  the  members  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  in  Leipzic,  that  the  commercial  college 


FINANCIAL  SUPPORT.  1 3 

in  that  city  was  founded  in  1898.  And  it  was  that  same  body  of 
men  who,  with  a  small  subsidy  from  the  Saxon  government, 
assumed  the  financial  responsibility  of  the  newly  founded  institu- 
tion. As  a  body,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  since  then  annu- 
ally voted  a  certain  sum  to  increase  the  college  revenue,  but  its 
main  usefulness  has  been  in  inducing  individuals  to  contribute 
large  and  small  sums  towards  the  maintenance  of  the  college. 
How  successful  these  efforts  have  been  may  be  seen  from  the 
report  of  the  last  fiscal  year,  which  shows  that  the  last  year 
brought  to  the  institution  from  anonymous  donors  two  endow- 
ments of  M.  10,000  each.  One  of  these  gifts  is  to  be  devoted  to 
scholarships,  the  other  to  be  used  to  increase  the  capital  of  the 
college.  Furthermore,  the  famous  fur  house  of  Theodor  Thorer, 
on  the  occasion  of  its  50th  anniversary,  donated  a  capital  of 
M.  100,000,  the  interest  of  which  is  to  be  spent  in  defraying  the 
expenses  of  trips  made  by  students  under  the  guidance  of  pro- 
fessors for  the  purpose  of  visiting  and  studying  commercial 
centers  and  industrial  plants.  The  contributions  of  the  Leipzic 
Chamber  of  Commerce  to  the  current  expense  fund  in  the  same 
year  amounted  to  M.  6,000  in  addition  to  M.  10,000  given  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  a  commercial  library. 

The  institution  in  Cologne  is  a  lasting  monument  to  the  munifi- 
cence of  one  man,  Gustav  von  Mevissen,  and  his  immediate  family. 
In  a  report  submitted  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  as  early  as 
1855  he  showed  the  necessity  for  higher  education  for  business 
men.  For  decades  he  urged  energetically  and  untiringly  the 
founding  of  such  an  institution,  in  1879  offering  a  large  capital  as 
a  nucleus  for  a  larger  foundation  fund.  Although  experiencing 
many  disappointments  he  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  before  his  death 
in  1899,  of  seeing  actual  work  of  organization  begun.  In  his 
testament  he  bequeathed  an  additional  sum  of  M.  300,000,  so  that 
his  total  endowment,  with  compound  interest,  amounted  to  M. 
740,000  by  1901,  when  the  official  opening  took  place.  Two 
years  later,  at  the  death  of  Mrs.  Mevissen,  M.  300,000  were 
added  by  bequest  to  the  capital  of  the  college,  to  which  two 
daughters  of  the  founders  added  M.  70,000,  so  that  by  1903  this 
one  family  alone  had  supplied  a  capital,  netting  an  income  which 
formed  one  third  of  the  total  income  of  the  college.  By  1909 
the  interest  of  the  Mevissen  endowments  amounted  to  M.  64,625. 
Also  in  later  years  members  of  this  family  have  proven  to  be 
most  liberal  friends  of  the  institution,  encouraging  and  inducing 
other  citizens  to  contribute  to  the  worthy  cause. 


14  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 

In  like  measure  has  the  liberality  of  the  citizens  shown  itself 
towards  the  Frankfort  college.  The  last  report,  covering  the 
fiscal  years  1910  and  191 1,  announces  that  after  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Franziska  Speyer  the  college  inherited  M.  950,000  for  gen- 
eral expenses  and  M.  575,000  to  be  added  to  the  Georg  Speyer 
Endowment  Fund.  The  proceeds  from  these  total  funds  (M.  61,- 
000  annually),  and  an  additional  income  of  M.  15,000  per  year 
from  other  funds,  increase  the  total  income  from  the  Speyer 
endowments  alone  to  M.  71,000  annually.  In  the  same  year 
Ex-mayor  Dr.  Adolf  Varrentrapp  donated  M.  100,000  and  Mr. 
Julius  Wertheimer,  a  banker,  M.  100,000  to  the  general  fund. 
A  lady  gave  M.  2,000  to  defray  the  expenses  of  establishing  a 
seminar  for  church  history.  An  organization  of  citizens,  called 
"Institute  of  Common  Welfare,"  increased  its  annual  contribu- 
tion to  M.  8,000  towards  the  support  of  a  lecture  chair  for  "  So- 
cial Welfare."  Hence  this  last  report  announces  a  total  of  M. 
1,757,000,  donated  during  this  one  fiscal  period  of  two  years. 

When  studying  the  history  of  the  commercial  college  in  Mann- 
heim we  learn  that  the  splendid  work  carried  on  there  is  made 
possible  by  the  Otto  Beck  Memorial  Fund  of  M.  151,600,  the 
Heinrich  Lanz  Memorial  Fund  of  M.  1,000,000,  and  a  municipal 
reserve  fund  of  M.  489,000.  Besides  this  interest-bearing  capital, 
many  smaller  donations  fall  to  the  college  annually. 

The  commercial  college  in  Munich  is  almost  entirely  supported 
by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Munich  Merchants'  Asso- 
ciation. The  city  on  the  other  hand  contributes  but  a  relatively 
small  amount  and  the  state  nothing  at  all  towards  the  support 
of  this  institution. 

The  identical  situation  with  respect  to  financial  support  exists 
at  the  Berlin  commercial  college  which  was  founded  and  is  sup- 
ported mainly  by  the  Berlin  Merchants'  Association. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  liberality  of  public-spirited  citizens  is  the 
largest  source  of  income  of  all  commercial  colleges  in  Germany. 


5.  GOVERNMENT  AND  CONTROL. 

Having  ascertained  the  three  sources  of  income  of  these  insti- 
tutions, we  have  at  the  same  time  learned  the  three  controlling 
factors ;  for  in  the  "  Senat "  or  "  Kuratorium  "  or  whatever  the 
boards  of  government  may  be  termed  by  the  various  colleges, 
we  find  representatives  of  all  three  of  these  sources  of  income. 

The  students  are  represented  by  a  committee  of  the  faculty, 
headed  by  the  director.  The  latter  is  a  member  of  the  faculty  and 
is  elected  from  its  number  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  college  and 
above  all  to  be  the  guiding  spirit  of  the  students.  The  success  of 
the  entire  institution  depends  in  a  large  measure  upon  the  charac- 
ter and  personality  of  the  director;  and  when  one  meets  Dr. 
Eckert  of  Cologne,  or  Dr.  Freudenthal  and  Dr.  Panzer  of  Frank- 
fort, or  Dr.  Bonn  and  Dr.  Kerschensteiner  of  Munich,  or  Dr. 
Adler  of  Leipzic,  he  can  readily  understand  why  their  respective 
institutions  have  made  such  phenomenal  progress. 

Custom  of  German  universities  has  it  that  a  new  "  Rector 
Magnificus  "  be  elected  each  academic  year.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  this  custom  has  in  a  measure  influenced  the  commercial  col- 
leges. According  to  their  respective  charters  each  elects  a  new 
director  every  two  or  three  years.  Naturally  the  time  is  so  short 
that  even  the  strongest  personality  is  unable  to  make  a  lasting 
impression  or  to  shape  the  character  of  the  institution.  He  can 
but  temporarily  direct  its  policy.  However,  his  main  and  perhaps 
his  most  important  duty  lies  in  his  relation  to  the  students.  Dur- 
ing the  long  and  frequent  office  hours  students  come  to  consult 
him  not  only  about  professional  but  also  about  personal  and  in- 
timate affairs,  seeking  and  obtaining  advice  in  all  matters  directly 
and  indirectly  related  to  their  study  and  career.  In  the  success- 
ful discharge  of  this  duty  lies  the  Director's  strength  and  use- 
fulness. 

Merchants'  Associations  and  Chambers  of  Commerce,  since 
they  contribute  so  large  a  share  towards  the  maintenance  of  the 
various  colleges,  are  represented  by  one  or  more  members  in  the 
"  Kuratorium."  Also  individual  patrons,  as  is  the  case  in  Cologne 
and  Mannheim,  have  a  share  in  the  government. 

The  remaining  members  of  the  "  Kuratorium  "  are  appointed  to 

15 


i6 


COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 


represent  the  city  or  the  state.  Their  number  is  based  approx- 
imately on  the  relative  amounts  which  each  contributes  towards 
the  financial  support  of  the  colleges. 

The  representation  in  the  government  of  the  several  institutions 
given  to  these  respective  sources  of  income  may  be  thus  tab- 
ulated : 

Boards  of  Government  of  the  Commercial  Colleges. 


Leipzic...., 
Cologne.... 
Frankfort. , 

Berlin 

Mannheim 
Munich...., 


Director 

and 
Faculty. 


Authorities. 


City.       State, 


Local 
Univer- 
sity. 


Chamber 
of  Com- 
merce. 


Mer- 
chants'As- 
sociation. 


21 
I 

4 


Indi- 
viduals. 


Total. 


II 
12 
20 
21 
22 
21 


This  table  shows  that  the  college  in  Leipzic  is  closely  affiliated 
with  the  university.  A  representative  of  the  university  is  at  the 
same  time  chairman  of  the  "  Senat "  of  the  commercial  college 
whilst  university  professors  are  not  only  members  of  the  college 
faculty  but  also  members  of  the  examination  commission.  Hence 
students  of  the  college  may  at  the  same  time  register  for  courses 
given  at  the  university.  The  vice-chairman  of  the  "  Senat " 
however  is  chosen  from  the  number  of  men  representing  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  in  recognition  of  the  large  financial 
support  given  to  the  college  by  that  body. 

Owing  to  their  origin,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  local  university, 
the  commercial  college  in  Cologne  and  the  one  in  Frankfort  are 
essentially  city  institutions.  Like  all  public  educational  institu- 
tions in  Germany,  they  are  under  the  general  supervision  of  the 
state,  which  duly  appoints  a  member  to  the  "Kuratorium"  of 
each  college  (except  Munich),  but  the  chairman  of  that  body  is 
ex  officio  the  mayor  of  the  respective  city,  whilst  in  his  absence 
his  substitute  will  serve  as  acting  chairman.  In  appreciation  of 
the  services  rendered  by  the  financial  founder  of  the  college  in 
Cologne,  Gustav  von  Mevissen,  his  family  has  the  privilege  of 
appointing  a  member  to  the  governing  body  of  that  college. 

Founded  by  the  "Corporation  of  Merchants  of  Berlin"  the 
commercial  college  in  that  city  is  governed  entirely  by  a  commit- 
tee of  21  "  Elders "  of  that  organization.  This  commission  of 
government  however  has  at  its  side  a  larger  board,  purely  advisory 


GOVERNMENT  AND  CONTROL.  1 7 

in  its  function,  called  the  "  Great  Council,"  consisting  of  22  addi- 
tional members  representing  the  state,  the  city,  and  the  faculty. 

In  Mannheim  practically  the  same  conditions  as  in  Leipzic 
prevail  regarding  the  commercial  college.  The  institution  in 
Mannheim  is  closely  affiliated  with  the  university  in  Heidelberg, 
the  two  cities  being  but  a  short  distance  apart.  As  in  Leipzic, 
professors  of  the  university  of  Heidelberg  lecture  also  at  the  com- 
mercial college  in  Mannheim,  and  students  of  the  latter  may  take 
courses  at  the  university  of  Heidelberg.  Nevertheless  the  latter 
university  does  not  exert  anything  like  the  same  influence  over  the 
college  as  is  the  case  with  the  Leipzic  institution.  This  may  be 
seen  by  the  large  number  of  city  representatives  in  the  college 
"  Senat,"  compared  with  the  small  number  representing  Heidel- 
berg University.  The  mayor  of  Mannheim  is  by  virtue  of  his 
office  also  chairman  of  the  board  of  government  of  the  commercial 
college,  whilst  one  member  of  that  body  is  appointed  by  the  family 
or  estate  of  Heinrich  Lanz,  one  of  the  financial  founders  of  the 
college. 

The  institution  in  Munich  is  wholly  a  city  enterprise  and  takes 
the  exceptional  position  of  being  the  only  one  of  the  six  commercial 
colleges  in  Germany  which  has  no  representative  of  the  state 
in  its  board  of  government,  not  even  in  an  advisory  capacity,  as 
is  the  case  in  Berlin.  Furthermore  the  college  is  wholly  a  city 
undertaking,  having,  however,  the  approval  of  the  state  and  re- 
ceiving proper  credit  for  its  work.  The  mayor  of  the  city  is  a 
member  of  the  "  Kuratorium  "  but  not  necessarily  its  chairman. 
That  body  elects  its  own  officers  and  the  position  of  chairman  has 
been  filled  in  an  able  manner,  since  the  founding  of  the  college 
in  1910,  by  Oberstudienrat  Dr.  Georg  Kerschensteiner. 


6.  ENTRANCE  REQUIREMENTS. 

Owing  to  the  close  supervision  which  the  state  exercises  over 
all  educational  institutions  in  Germany,  and  owing  to  the  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  six  commercial  colleges  to  maintain  their 
high  rank  in  the  educational  system  of  the  country,  the  entrance 
requirements  for  all  six  are  nearly  identical. 

In  order  to  matriculate  as  candidate  for  a  diploma  one  must  be : 

(a)  A  graduate  of  a  collegiate  institution  having  a  nine  years' 

course  of  study  (Gymnasium,  Realgymnasium,  Oberreal- 
schule,  or  a  school  of  equally  high  grade)  ; 

(b)  or  a  merchant,  bank  or  insurance  official,  having  obtained 

the  privilege  of  but  "one-year  military  service"  (hence 
being  a  graduate  of  a  higher  school  having  a  six-year 
course)  and  having  besides  at  least  two  years  (in  Leipzic 
the  minimum  is  three  years)  of  commercial  experience 
"  in  his  branch  "  to  his  credit ; 

(c)  or  a  normal  school  graduate,  having  passed  his  "  second  ex- 

amination" (after  4-5  years  of  teaching),  who  wishes  to 
specialize  that  he  may  become  a  teacher  of  commercial 
subjects ; 

(d)  or  a  graduate  of  a  higher  commercial  school  which  ranks 

approximately  as  high  as  the  schools  enumerated  under 
clause  (a)  ; 

(e)  or  a  foreigner,  whose  previous  education  is  equivalent  to 

that  required  from  native  students. 

From  this  can  be  seen  that  the  entrance  requirements  for  the 
commercial  colleges  are  nearly  as  stringent  as  for  post-graduate 
study  at  the  university. 

Some  further  explanation  of  the  requirements  in  each  of  the 
first  four  of  the  above  noted  classes  follows. 

(a)  It  will  be  remembered  that  these  collegiate  institutions 
are  based  upon  3  years  of  elementary  school  work.  At  the  age 
of  9  years  a  boy,  showing  aptitude  and  inclination  for  advanced 
study,  will  leave  the  public  school  and  enter  the  lowest  grade 
(Sexta)  of  a  gymnasium  (classical  school)  or  of  any  other 
school  of  equally  high  rank.  Here  he  will  spend  9  years  (if  he 
is  exceptionally  bright)  or  usually  10  years  (if  he  belongs  to  the 

18 


ENTRANCE  REQUIREMENTS.  1 9 

great  class  of  average  students)  in  hard  work  and  intense  appli- 
cation to  his  studies  under  closest  supervision.  His  classroom 
work  begins  at  7  A.M.  and  ends  at  12.30  P.M.  during  the  summer 
semester;  during  the  winter  semester  it  lasts  from  8  A.M.  to 
1.30  P.M.  The  afternoon  is  devoted  to  preparation  for  the  work 
of  the  next  day. 

This  serious  course  is  terminated  by  a  rigorous  examination, 
usually  conducted  by  a  specially  appointed  commission,  of  which 
the  representative  of  the  government  acts  as  chairman.  Grad- 
uating from  such  an  institution  with  the  "  Maturitaetszeugnis " 
(sometimes  called  "  Reifezeugnis  "),  a  diploma  which  is  often  com- 
pared to  the  American  bachelor  degree  (although  the  American 
college  really  does  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  German  university) 
the  young  man  enters  upon  his  professional  work  at  the  age  of 
18  or  19  years  by  matriculating  in  one  of  the  technical  schools 
or  in  one  of  the  universities,  where  he  may  obtain  his  doctoral 
degree  in  about  4  years.  This  shows  that  students  matriculating 
in  the  commercial  colleges  under  clause  (a)  or  {d)  or  {e)  are 
also  eligible  to  pursue  university  study.  It  seems  reasonable 
therefore  to  assume  that  students  in  the  commercial  college,  hav- 
ing the  same  thorough  previous  education  as  those  attending  the 
university,  will  do  scholarly  work  on  par  with  that  of  the  uni- 
versity students. 

{h)  The  "one-year  military  service"  diploma  represents  six 
years  of  training  in  a  higher  school  (based  upon  three  years  ele- 
mentary school)  and  may  be  obtained  by  two  groups  of  men. 
The  first  group  comprises  those  students  in  one  of  the  schools 
described  in  (a),  who  for  one  reason  or  another  are  unable  to 
complete  the  nine-years  course  for  the  "maturity  diploma." 
These  are  eligible  to  take  the  examination  for  the  "  one-year 
military  service"  diploma  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  year.  The 
second  group  comprises  the  graduates  of  a  Realschule  or  of 
one  of  the  many  preparatory  schools,  all  having  a  six-years  course 
and  leading  to  the  same  diploma,  which  is  usually  obtained  at  the 
age  of  16  or  17  years.  In  order  to  matriculate  in  one  of  the 
commercial  colleges,  the  holder  of  that  diploma  must  have  in 
addition  a  minimum  of  two  years  (in  Leipzic  three  years)  of 
practical  commercial  experience,  which  must  be  satisfactorily  cer- 
tified to  the  faculty  committee  on  entrance.  It  is  evidently  as- 
sumed that  the  two  or  three  years  of  practical  training  do  approx- 
imately balance  the  three  additional  years  which  the  students 


20  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES  IN   GERMANY. 

under  (a)  devote  to  formal  study  in  a  higher  school  with  a  nine- 
years  course.  Statistics  show  that  the  greater  majority  of  the 
matriculated  students  in  the  various  commercial  colleges  belong 
to  this  group  (b). 

(c)  The  most  lenient  entrance  requirements  are  exacted  from 
teachers  who  have  practised  their  profession  for  a  certain  number 
of  years.  The  preparatory  training  of  an  elementary  school 
teacher  is  given  in  a  *' preparatory  school"  having  a  three-years 
course  followed  by  three  years  of  professional  study  in  a  "  teach- 
ers' seminary."  This  entire  course  of  six  years  is  based  upon  the 
eight  year  course  of  the  elementary  or  public  school  and  not  upon 
any  of  the  "higher  schools."  Hence  the  training  of  the  German 
elementary  school  teacher  corresponds  closely  to  that  of  the 
American  normal  school  graduate.  The  professional  studies  in 
a  German  "  Seminary "  are  terminated  by  the  "  First  Exam- 
ination" (the  official  title  of  this  examination),  after  which  the 
graduates  receive  temporary  appointment  as  teachers,  lasting 
approximately  4-5  years,  during  which  they  must  seek  to  perfect 
themselves  in  their  profession  and  must  continue  to  study  pri- 
vately in  order  to  prepare  for  the  "  Second  "  or  "  State  Examina- 
tion." Only  after  successfully  passing  this  latter  test  is  the 
license  of  the  teacher  made  permanent  or  can  he  hope  to  obtain  a 
permanent  position.  In  general  the  education  of  an  elementary 
school  teacher  in  Germany  is  not  rated  as  equal  to  that  of  a 
"higher  school"  graduate,  hence  most  German  universities  will 
not  permit  such  teachers  to  matriculate.  Students  matriculat- 
ing in  the  commercial  colleges  under  clause  (b)  or  (c)  can 
therefore  hardly  be  considered  "post-graduate"  students  in  the 
American  nor  German  sense  of  the  term.  It  is  in  part  due  to 
these  two  lenient  clauses  for  matriculation,  that  the  German  edu- 
cational authorities  still  hesitate  to  recognize  the  work  done  in 
these  commercial  colleges  as  work  of  university  grade. 

(d)  There  are  quite  a  number  of  cities  that  boast  of  a  so-called 
"  higher  commercial  school,"  not  to  be  confounded  however  with 
the  "  Handelsrealschulen."  The  latter  are  on  par  with  the  other 
Realschulen  as  to  quality  of  work  and  length  of  course,  with  the 
one  difference  that  during  the  last  three  years  commercial  sub- 
jects predominate  in  the  curriculum.  Like  their  sister  institutions 
they  also  end  with  the  "one-year  military  service"  diploma. 
Graduates  of  these  Handelsrealschulen  are  not  eligible  for  en- 
trance to  the  commercial  colleges  unless  they  have  had  also  two 


ENTRANCE  REQUIREMENTS. 


21 


or  three  years  of  commercial  experience,  like  those  enumerated 
under  clause  (b)  ;  or  unless  they  have  attended  the  two-years 
course  in  a  "higher  commercial  school,"  which  is  equivalent  to 
the  last  two  years  in  a  school  described  under  (a). 

Attempting  to  present  the  entrance  requirements  graphically, 
we  will  receive  the  following  sketch: 


D 
C 

4-5  years  teach- 
ing 

D 
C 

3  years  Teachers* 
seminary 

3'years  prepara- 
tory school 

2-3  years  com- 
mercial experi-  J 
ence 

2-3  years  Higher 

commercial 

school 

8  years  elemen- 
tary school 

9  years  Gymna- 
sium, etc. 

6  years 
Realschule 

6  years 
Realschule 

3  years  elemen- 
tary school 

3  years  elemen- 
tary school 

3  years  elemen- 
tary school 

Requirements    a) 


^) 


0 


^) 


Note. — (i)  Line  A-A  represents  entrance  to  school  at  the  age  of  6  years. 
Line  B-B  represents  entrance  to  a  higher  school. 
Line  C-C  represents  eligibility  to  "  one-year  mil.  ser."  dipl. 
Line  D-D  represents  eligibility  to  com.  college. 

(2)  It  must  be  stated  here  again,  that  above  number  of  years  ex- 
press the  minimum  and  that  only  exceptional  students  under 
favorable  conditions  can  cover  the  course  in  that  time. 


Above  were  stated  the  conditions  under  which  students,  men  or 
women,  may  matriculate  for  full  work,  leading  to  the  regular 
diploma.  Persons  however  who  can  not  matriculate  under  any 
one  of  the  above  conditions  may  register  as  "auditors."  After 
paying  the  stipulated  fee  they  may  attend  the  lectures  of  certain 
courses  without  any  credit  towards  a  diploma. 


22 


COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN    GERMANY. 


It  thus  appears  that  the  student  body  presents  a  rather  hetero- 
geneous and  interesting  conglomeration  of  men  and  women  of 
diverse  professions  and  callings,  and  of  ages  varying  between  i8 
and  35  years.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  study  the  age  of  the  ma- 
triculated students  somewhat  more  closely.  Available  statistics 
give  the  following  table: 


Age  Distribution  of  German  Commercial  College  Students. 


W.  Sem. 

W.  Sem. 

S.  Sem.  1911 

S.  Sem.  1911 

Age. 

Leipzic. 

1910-  II 
Cologne. 

Frankfort. 

Munich. 

17-18 

35 

31 

1 

I 

19 

84 

36 

r    75 

9 

20 

130 

90 

J 

20 

21 

97 

76 

47 

30 

22 

81 

60 

37 

14 

23 

63 

62 

26 

24 

24 

47 

25 

27 

8 

25 

34 

25 

II 

3 

26-30 

66 

40 

84 

}    « 

31    + 

26 

25 

78 

Total 

663 

740 

385 

131 

This  table  shows  that  a  large  number  of  the  matriculated 
students  in  all  these  colleges  are  between  the  ages  of  20  and  22 
years,  but  that  there  are  quite  a  number  who  are  above  30  years 
of  age.  This  last  group  is  of  course  very  materially  increased  by 
the  many  "auditors,"  who  are  regularly  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  and  can  therefore  register  for  partial  work  only. 


7.  CURRICULUM. 

A  close  study  and  comparison  of  the  different  curricula  of 
the  six  commercial  colleges  will  show  that  there  are  certain  fun- 
damental subjects  which  are  offered  in  all  these  colleges,  to  which 
other  subjects  have  been  added  from  time  to  time  according  to 
the  demand  made  by  the  students  and  the  special  needs  of  each 
particular  institution.  To  avoid  duplicating,  the  complete  cur- 
riculum of  the  college  in  Munich,  the  youngest  organized  com- 
mercial college,  will  be  given  in  the  following  pages,  with  the 
assumption  that,  working  out  the  curriculum  of  the  new  insti- 
tution, only  the  most  important  subjects  were  selected  as  a  basal 
structure,  from  which  other  courses  could  branch  out  later. 

Curriculum  of  the  Munich  Commercial  College. 
Winter  Semester,  ipi2  to  1913. 

I.  Commercial  Sciences. 

Money  (Notes,  Checks,  Precious  Metals),  3  hrs.* 

Commodities  and  their  Trade,  2  hrs. 

Advanced  Accounting,  2  hrs. 

Seminar  for  Mercantile  Economics,  2  hrs. 

Discussions  of  Magazine  Articles  concerning  Domestic  Econom- 
ics, I  hr. 

Discussions  of  Magazine  Articles  concerning  Money  Market  and 
Stocks,  I  hr. 

Seminar  for  Commercial  Private  Economics,  i  hr. 

Technical  Bookkeeping  for  Industrial  Wholesale  Trade,  2  hrs. 

General  Technique  of  Commodity  Commerce,  2  hrs. 

Organization  of  Textile  Market,  2  hrs. 

Study  of  and  Visits  to  Industrial  Establishments,  2  hrs. 

Accounting,  i  hr. 

Banking,  i  hr. 

Selected  Topics  from  Prices  of  Commodities,  i  hr. 

Introduction  to  Mercantile  Arithmetic,  2  hrs. 

The  Most  Important  Food  Stuffs,  i  hr. 

*  Three  hours  of  classroom  work  per  week. 

23 


24  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES  IN  GERMANY. 

Textile  Industry  (Bleaching,  Dyeing,  Printing),  i  hr. 

Applied  Chemistry,  i  hr. 

Introduction  to  Dyeing,  i  hr. 

Elements  of  Mechanical  Technology,  2  hrs. 

II.  Political  Economy. 

Elements  of  General  Economics,  4  hrs. 

Organization  of  Capital  and  Money  Markets  in  Leading  Coun- 
tries, 2  hrs. 

Sociology,  2  hrs. 

Practice  in  Mercantile  and  Industrial  Establishments,  2  hrs. 

Statistical  Foundations  of  Political  Economy,  2  hrs. 

Fundamentals  of  Unions,  2  hrs. 

Introduction  to  Insurance,  i  hr. 

Important  Financial  Topics  in  Commerce,  2  hrs. 

Law  Relating  to  Accident-  and  Life  Insurance,  i  hr. 

Banking,  Bourse,  Trade  and  Commerce,  4  hrs. 

Trade  and  Modern  Industry,  2  hrs. 

History  of  Economic  Theories,  2  hrs. 

Social  and  Labor  Questions,  2  hrs. 

Agricultural  Politics,  3  hrs. 

History  of  Socialism  and  Communism,  from  the  Sixteenth  Cen- 
tury to  Present  Day,  4  hrs. 

Introduction  to  Private  Insurance,  2  hrs. 

Markets  and  Bourse  (Organizations  and  Regulating  of  Prices  in 
Wholesale  Trade),  2  hrs. 

Finance,  4  hrs. 

Trade  Questions,  2  hrs. 

Insurance,  2  hrs. 

Building  Trade,  2  hrs. 

III.  Law. 

Commercial  Law,  4  hrs. 

Selected  Topics  from  English  Law,  2  hrs. 

Trade  Laws,  2  hrs. 

Business  Suspension  and  Bankruptcy,  2  hrs. 

Civil  Law,  3  hrs. 

Elements  of  International  Law,  2  hrs. 

Banking  and  Bourse  Laws,  2  hrs. 

Insurance  of  Laborers  and  Employees,  2  hrs. 

Elements  of  General  Law,  2  hrs. 


CURRICULUM.  Z$ 


Colonial  Law,  2  hrs. 
Real  Estate  Law,  3  hrs. 


IV.  Geography. 

Geography  of  Brazil  and  Argentine  Republic,  2  hrs. 

Geography  of  Ocean  Routes,  2  hrs. 

Geography  of  America,  5  hrs. 

Mineralogy  (with  excursions),  2  hrs. 

Geography  and  Geology  of  German  Colonies,  i  hr. 

Elements  of  Ethnology  of  British  India,  i  hr. 

Prehistoric  Man,  i  hr. 

Economic  Geography,  2  hrs. 

V.  Languages. 
English  la,  2  hrs. 
English  I&,  2  hrs. 

English  Commercial  Correspondence,  i  hr. 
English  Debate  i  hr. 
English  Geography,  2  hrs. 
French  II,  2  hrs. 
French  III,  2  hrs. 
French  Repetition,  2  hrs. 
French  Seminar,  i  hr. 
Italian  I,  2  hrs. 
Italian  II,  2  hrs. 

Italian  III,  Commercial  Correspondence,  i  hr. 
Spanish  I,  2  hrs. 
Spanish  II,  2  hrs. 
Russian  I,  2  hrs. 

VI.  General  Courses. 

Art  in  the  Service  of  the  Merchant,  i  hr. 

Missions  in  the  German  Colonies,  2  hrs. 

Commercial  Hygiene,  2  hrs. 

First  Aid  to  the  Injured,  i  hr. 

General  History  of  Modern  Times,  4  hrs. 

German  Constitutional  History  (to  1871),  4  hrs. 

History  of  the  Roman  Empire,  4  hrs. 

Introduction  to  Philosophy,  5  hrs. 

History  of  Development  of  Modern  Art  (to  1800),  4  hrs. 

History  of  German  Literature  (since  1848),  4  hrs. 

Goethe,  3  hrs. 


26  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 

Schiller's  Storm  and  Stress  Dramas  and  Lyrics,  i  hr. 

Schiller's  Master  Dramas,  i  hr. 

Schiller's  Philosophical  Essays  and  Poems,  i  hr. 

Present  German  Literature,  i  hr. 

Mediaeval  Ideas  concerning  the  World,  2  hrs. 

Civilization  during  the  Renaissance  in  Italy,  3  hrs. 

Tabulating  the  above  we  get  the  following  schema  showing  the 


Curriculum  of  Munich  Commercial  College. 

Subjects.  Total  Hours  Weekly. 

I.  Commercial  sciences 22  36 

11.  Political  economy 21  49 

III.  Law II  26 

IV.  Geography   8  16 

V.  Languages   15  26 

VI.  General  cultural  courses 17  43 

94  196 


Synopsis  of  the  Curriculum  of  the  Commercial  College 

IN  Leipzig. 

Subjects.        Total  Hours  Weekly. 

I.  Political  economy 13  30 

IL  Law 14  36 

III.  Geography  and  history 7  18 

IV.  Technology 4  7 

V.  General  cultural  courses 28  65  • 

VI.  Languages 21  47 

VII.  Commercial  sciences 25  59 

VIII.  Insurance 3  5 

IX.  Commercial  law 2  4 

117  271 


CURRICULUM. 


27 


Synopsis  of  the  Curriculum  of  the  Commercial  College 

IN  Mannheim. 

Subjects.        Total  Hours  Weekly. 

I.  Commercial  sciences 21  37 

II.  Political  economy 17  34 

III.  Law 12  24 

IV.  Natural  sciences,  tech'gy,  com- 

modities, geography 8  45 

V.  Languages 13  28 

71  168 

Synopsis  of  the  Curriculum  of  the  Commercial  College 

IN  Cologne. 

Subjects.       Total  Hours  Weekly. 

I.  Political  economy 2j  44 

II.  Law 17  30 

III.  Insurance  and  cooperative  as- 
sociations  7  9 

IV.  Geo.,  tech'gy,  nat.  science*  . .  23  35 
V.  Languagesf 48                97 

VI.  Commercial  sciences 22  40 

VII.  Pedagogy 8  9 

VIII.  General  culture  courses 17  20 

169  284 

*  Exclusive  of  the  following  courses : 

1.  Chemical  laboratory,  short  course,  9  hrs.  per  week. 

2.  Chemical  laboratory,  long  course,  daily,  9-1  and  2r^  J  Saturday, 

9-1  only. 

3.  Physics  and  electro-technic  lab.  course,  9  hrs.  weekly. 

t  To  show  the  remarkable  extent  of  the  department  of  foreign 
languages,  the  following  may  be  appended: 

English II  courses,  23  hrs.     Scandinavian  .  2  hrs. 

French    9  courses,  18  hrs. 

Italian 4  courses,   7  hrs. 

Spanish 5  courses,   8  hrs. 

Portuguese  ..  2  courses,   4  hrs. 

Russian    5  courses,  14  hrs. 

Dutch 3  courses,   4  hrs. 


Chinese 

.3  hrs. 

Arabic 

.ihr. 

Persian 

.  ihr. 

each  I 

Turkish    

.  ihr. 

course 

Mod.  Greek  . 

.  2  hrs. 

Bulgarian  .. 

.  2  hrs. 

Indish 

.  2  hrs. 

•28  commercial  colleges  in  germany. 

Synopsis  of  the  Curriculum  of  the  Commercial  College 

IN  Frankfort. 

Subjecu.       Total  Hours  Weekly. 

I.  Economics,  ethnology  and  ge- 
ography    26  48 

II.  Law 10  16 

III.  Insurance  statistics  and  soci- 

ology      5  8 

IV.  Commercial  sciences 10  20 

V.  Philosophy,    philology,    peda- 
gogy and  psychology 13  25 

VI.  History  and  art ..     8  10 

VII.  Foreign  languages 41  79 

VIII.  Nat.  sciences,  mathematics  and 
technology : 

(a)  Lectures 21  32 

m  238 

(b)  Laboratory 11  * 

145 

*  The  following  is  the  list  of  laboratory  courses : 

1.  Full  laboratory  course  in  physics,  daily,  9-1  and  3-7  o'clock; 

Saturday,  9-1  only. 

2.  Short  laboratory  course  in  physics,  daily,  8  hrs.  per  week. 

3.  Photographic  laboratory  course,  8  hrs.  per  week. 

4.  Full  electro-chemical  laboratory  course,  daily,  9-1  and  3-7; 

Saturday,  9-1  only. 

5.  (a)  Short    electro-chemical    laboratory    course     (measure- 

ments), 4  hrs.  per  week. 

6.  (b)  Short  chemical  laboratory  course  (machines  and  trans- 

formers), 4  hrs.  per  week. 

7.  Full  chemical  and  electro-chemical  laboratory  course,  daily, 

9-1,  3-7  >  Saturday,  9-1. 

8.  Short  chemical  and  electro-chemical  laboratory  course,  8  hrs. 

per  week. 

9.  Full  chemistry  laboratory  course,  daily,  9-6;  Saturday,  9-1. 
ID.  Short  chemistry  laboratory  course,  8  hrs.  per  week. 

II.  Short  chemistry  laboratory  course  (commodities),  5  hrs.  per 
week. 


curriculum.  29 

Synopsis  of  the  Curriculum  of  the  Commercial  College 

IN  Berlin 

Courses.  Horn  Weekly. 

I.  Introduction  to  the  studies 2  2 

11.  Commercial  sciences 23  37 

III.  Economics 28  40 

IV.  Law 15  25 

V.  Commercial   geography  and  com- 
mercial history II  14 

VI.  Pure  and  applied  sciences  and  tech- 
nology : 

(a)  Lectures 10  20 

(b)  Laboratory * 

VII.  Languages 25  90 

VIIL  Pedagogy 3  5 

IX.  General  culture  courses 8  8 

Total  ."135  241 

*  Laboratory  courses : 

1.  3  hrs.  daily. 

2.  6  hrs.  daily. 

3.  From  9  A.M.  to  6  P.M.  daily,  except  Saturday. 


8.  COURSES,   EXAMINATIONS,  DIPLOMAS. 

This  enormously  rich  program  is  offered  during  the  summer 
semester  beginning  at  7  A.M.,  during  the  winter  semester  at  8 
A.M.,  and  lasting  until  10  P.M.,  with  but  one  intermission,  from 
1-2  P.M.  From  this  great  variety  of  subjects  the  student  may 
elect  any  course  or  courses  of  lectures  that  he  considers  of  ad- 
vantage and  importance  to  his  life  work.  The  only  restriction  is 
the  stated  maximum  of  hours  per  week,  which  in  some  colleges  is 
28,  in  others  30  hours  of  classroom  work. 

In  the  selection  of  courses  each  student  may  be  guided  by  the 
"  plan  of  studies  "  which  is  issued  by  the  college.  This  plan  de- 
scribes the  nature  of  each  course  of  lectures  and  states  for  what 
particular  branches  in  the  commercial  and  industrial  world  it  may 
be  of  special  benefit.  It  gives  the  fundamental  courses  upon 
which  the  student  may  build  his  special  courses.  Furthermore 
the  students  are  urgently  advised,  candidly  and  frequently  to  con- 
sult the  director  as  well  as  the  different  professors  who  are  re- 
quired to  have  regular,  stated  office  hours,  during  which  the  time 
is  at  the  disposal  of  the  students — an  arrangement  worthy  of 
imitation  by  all  our  American  colleges. 

Another  guide  to  the  student  for  the  proper  selection  of  courses 
is  a  pamphlet,  stating  the  "examination  requirements."  This 
enumerates  the  fundamental  subjects,  in  which  every  candidate 
for  a  diploma  is  examined.  Hence  this  class  of  students  will 
naturally  elect  these  basal  courses  (which  we  will  discuss  later), 
no  matter  in  what  work  they  may  specialize  later. 

The  minimum  length  of  the  course  leading  to  a  diploma  in  all 
of  these  institutions  is  from  4  to  6  semesters  (2-3  years)  accord- 
ing to  the  preliminary  training  of  the  individual  student  and  the 
particular  diploma  sought.  But  it  is  frankly  admitted  that  stu- 
dents with  only  the  minimum  requirements  as  to  time  and  courses 
rarely  pass  the  severe  final  examinations,  and  all  are  urged  to 
spend  one  or  two  semesters  more  in  serious  study. 

There  are  primarily  two  main  courses  offered  by  all  commer- 
cial colleges,  one  being  the  general  commercial  science  course 
leading  to  a  diploma  which  is  approximately  equivalent  to  our 
*'  bachelor  degree  in  commercial  science "  and  opens  the  way  to 
remunerative  executive  positions  in  the  business  world ;  the  other 

30 


COURSES,   EXAMINATIONS,   DIPLOMAS.  3 1 

the  commercial  teacher's  course,  which  entitles  the  holder  to  a 
position  as  teacher  in  one  of  the  higher  commercial  schools.  In 
addition  to  these  two  courses,  the  college  in  Leipzic  offers  a  spe- 
cial, concise  course  for  accountants,  and  the  school  in  Frankfort 
one  for  insurance  experts,  each  extending  over  at  least  one 
semester. 

The  apparent  leniency  shown  to  students  in  regard  to  the  elec- 
tion of  studies  is  entirely  counter-balanced  by  the  rigid  examina- 
tions which  follow  the  years  of  study  and  lead  to  the  desired 
diplomas.  These  examinations  are  conducted  by  a  commission 
consisting  of  a  specially  appointed  representative  of  the  state  as 
chairman,  the  Director  of  the  institution,  and  the  professors  of 
the  courses  in  which  the  candidate  is  to  be  examined. 

In  Leipzic,  for  instance,  the  candidate  for  the  "diploma  of 
general  commercial  science  "  must  have  studied  at  the  commercial 
college  at  least  five  semesters  and  must  prove  that  he  has  attended 
lectures  in  the  following  subjects: 

(a)  Commercial  Sciences. 

1.  General  (theoretical)  Economics. 

2.  Special  (practical)  Economics. 

3.  Finance. 

4.  At  least  one  of  the  following : 

(a)  Money,  Credit,  Banking. 
(&)  Commercial  Politics. 

(c)  History  of  National  Economics. 

(d)  Insurance. 

(e)  Colonial  Politics. 
(/)   Statistics. 

5.  Commercial  and  International  Law. 

6.  Geography  of  the  World's  Commerce. 

7.  History  of  Commerce. 

(b)  Technical  Subjects. 

8.  Higher   Mercantile  Arithmetic. 

9.  Political  Arithmetic. 

10.  Bookkeeping. 

11.  Commercial  Correspondence  (in  native  and  at  least  one  for- 

eign language). 

12.  Model  Business  Office. 


32  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 

The  formal  examination  consists  of  three  parts :  a  thesis,  three 
written  tests  "  unter  Klausur  "  (viz.,  under  supervision  in  class- 
room), and  an  oral  examination.  The  thesis,  which  must  be 
written  within  six  weeks  from  the  time  the  theme  is  given  to  the 
student  by  the  examination  commission,  deals  with  a  definite  phase 
or  problem  taken  from  political  economy,  or  from  commercial 
law,  or  from  history  of  commerce,  or  from  commercial  geog- 
raphy. In  the  written  tests  under  supervision  three  themes,  the- 
oretical and  practical,  again  given  by  the  examination  commis- 
sion, must  be  discussed,  allowing  four  hours  for  the  discussion  of 
each  theme. 

Only  after  all  papers  have  been  accepted  is  the  candidate  ad- 
mitted to  the  oral  examination.  The  subjects  required  for  the 
written  and  for  the  oral  examinations  are : 

1.  Higher  Mercantile  Arithmetic. 

2.  Bookkeeping. 

3.  Commercial  Correspondence  in  one  or  two  foreign  languages. 

4.  Political  Economy  and  Finance. 

5.  Commercial  and  International  Law. 

6.  Principles  of  Commercial  Geography. 

7.  History  of  Commerce. 

Candidates  failing  in  the  written  or  oral  examination  may  re- 
peat these  after  one  or  two  semesters  but  are  then  required  to 
pay  the  total  examination  fee  again. 

The  other  diploma  obtainable  in  the  commercial  colleges  is  the 
"diploma  for  teachers  of  commercial  subjects."  In  Leipzic  this 
diploma  also  demands  5  semesters  as  a  minimum  time  of  study. 
In  addition  to  the  requirements  enumerated  above  for  the  "  gen- 
eral diploma,"  candidates  for  the  teacher's  diploma  must  also  pur- 
sue work  in  pedagogy.  As  a  part  of  their  final  examination,  cov- 
ering the  same  topics  listed  above,  they  are  required  to  give  a 
"model  lesson"  in  the  classroom,  to  show  their  pedagogical 
aptitude. 

These  rules,  quoted  from  the  14th  annual  report  (1912)  of  the 
commercial  college  in  Leipzic,  practically  apply  also  to  the  other 
commercial  colleges  in  the  country  and  show  the  nature  of  these 
final  examinations. 


9.  EDUCATIONAL  TOURS. 

There  is  however  one  feature  of  the  course  of  studies  worthy 
of  special  mention,  namely  the  trips  and  excursions  which  groups 
of  students  under  guidance  of  professors  regularly  undertake,  in 
order  to  visit  industrial  and  commercial  centers  and  there  study 
manufacturing  plants  and  mercantile  enterprises.  This  custom 
is  prevalent  in  all  the  commercial  colleges  and  it  must  be  stated  to 
the  credit  of  the  leading  men  in  the  commercial  world  that  they 
have  aided  this  undertaking  in  the  most  liberal  manner. 

One  of  the  important  aims  in  a  higher  commercial  education  is 
to  train  the  mind  to  appreciate  commercial  values,  to  see  the 
"theories"  translated  into  "work,"  to  see  the  principles  applied 
in  real  mercantile  and  industrial  life.  Lectures  and  exercises 
alone  are  not  sufficient  as  preparation  for  so  practical  a  profession 
as  business  is.  They  must  be  supplemented  by  exchange  of, 
opinions  as  is  done  in  seminar  work,  and  also  by  "  Anschauung," 
by  inspection.  This  is  accomplished  by  a  systematic  (not  spo- 
radic!) inspection  of  commercial  and  industrial  institutions  and 
plants.  It  is  unnecessary  to  point  out  to  the  thinking  man  the 
enormous  benefit  derived  from  such  trips  and  tours.  It  may 
suffice  here  merely  to  state  what  has  been  done  by  these  colleges 
in  this  respect. 

It  is  interesting  to  read  Dr.  Eckert's  last  (1912)  report  con- 
cerning the  excursions  of  the  commercial  college  in  Cologne. 
In  the  beginning  such  trips  were  naturally  limited  to  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  city,  which  offered  ample  material  for  many 
tours.  Eighty-eight  different  establishments  were  visited,  includ- 
ing factories  for  glass  and  earthenware,  cement,  boilers,  paper, 
iron,  steel,  furniture,  railroad  trains,  chemicals;  also  foundries, 
mines,  weaving  mills,  water  works,  ship  yards,  harbors,  museums, 
sessions  of  chambers  of  commerce  and  other  commercial  and 
social  organizations,  institutions  of  charity,  stock  exchange,  gov- 
ernment offices,  etc.  Everywhere  these  groups  of  students  and 
professors  found  most  cordial  reception  on  the  part  of  individuals 
and  authorities. 

But  this  special  field  of  study  was  not  to  be  limited  to  home 
surroundings  or  inland  industry  and  commerce  alone.     To  in- 

33 


34  COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES  IN   GERMANY. 

crease  the  intellectual  viewpoint  of  the  students  by  giving  them 
an  idea  of  international  trade,  its  means  and  methods,  these  trips 
were  extended  to  the  great  harbors  of  Germany  and  Holland. 
Also  the  exposition  in  Brussels  was  made  the  goal  of  a  special 
tour.  Such  prolonged  journeys  could  of  course  not  be  made 
during  the  limited  time  of  the  academic  year,  hence  the  vacation 
weeks  were  utilized  for  this  purpose.  However,  the  expenses 
connected  with  these  trips  threatened  to  make  these  exceedingly 
beneficial  and  instructive  undertakings  a  prerogative  of  the 
wealthy.  To  avoid  this  danger  and  to  make  these  tours  possible 
also  to  the  students  in  less  fortunate  circumstances,  a  fund  was 
created  to  which  wealthy  and  liberal  patrons  and  friends  contrib- 
uted large  and  small  sums,  and  from  which  the  greater  part  of  the 
expenses  were  paid  for  such  students.  Nearly  every  report  of 
the  various  colleges  contains  some  announcement  of  new  dona- 
tions to  this  "  travel  fund."  In  order  to  make  such  long  and  ex- 
pensive tours  most  profitable,  lectures  by  the  professors  in  charge 
of  the  expedition,  and  readings  assigned  to  the  students  before  the 
journey,  serve  the  purpose  of  preparing  the  minds  of  the  students 
to  look  for  the  salient  and  interesting  features  on  the  proposed 
trip.  Explanatory  lectures  by  the  accompanying  professors  en 
route  also  aid  materially  to  make  the  student  understand  what  he 
sees.  One  of  these  extended  trips,  lasting  four  weeks,  led  the 
travelers  to  the  most  important  continental  harbors  of  western 
Europe,  in  order  to  study  at  first  hand  how  historical  and  com- 
mercial development  was  favored  by  geographical  position. 
Along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  main  harbors 
of  Italy,  Greece  and  Turkey,  along  the  German  railroad  in  Asia 
Minor,  was  the  route  of  that  interesting  expedition.  Here  the 
participants  studied  the  great  classic  cultural  districts  in  the  light 
of  modern  economic  points  of  view. 

Another  similar  trip  led  a  group  of  students  to  the  equatorial 
states  of  eastern  Africa,  to  study  colonial  problems  and  to  ob- 
serve how  European  training  and  industry  had  subjugated  un- 
productive, unknown  territory  and  changed  it  to  valuable 
holdings. 

The  greatest  undertaking  however  was  carried  out  in  1910, 
when  28  carefully  selected  students  under  the  able  guidance  of 
three  professors  toured  the  most  important  manufacturing  and 
commercial  centers  of  the  United  States.  Besides  visiting  the 
great  financial  and  commercial  centers,  such  as  New  York,  Chi- 


EDUCATIONAL  TOURS.  35 

cage,  St.  Louis,  etc.,  this  expedition  left  the  accustomed  routes 
of  the  general  traveler  and  sought  special  information  in  Duluth, 
Butte,  Seattle,  Pomona,  etc.  Thirteen  railroad  companies  carried 
their  Pullman  sleeper  through  26  states  of  the  Union  and  a  part 
of  Canada,  whilst  shorter  distances  were  traversed  in  automo- 
biles. Everywhere  American  hospitality  and  cordiality  showed 
itself  in  their  best  light.  Representatives  of  the  mercantile  and 
industrial  world,  chambers  of  commerce,  individuals,  all  rivaled  in 
aiding  the, success  of  the  great  undertaking.  The  report  on  this 
enterprise,  written  by  Dr.  Eckert,  is  a  classic  of  its  kind,  charac- 
terized by  accurate  statement,  and  testifies  to  sharp  observation 
and  fair-mindedness  of  the  author. 

Thus  these  students  have  had  an  opportunity  to  study  foreign 
customs  and  foreign  commercial  methods  and  have  no  doubt  ex- 
perienced the  truth  of  Goethe's  words :  "  A  clever  man  will  find 
the  best  education  in  travel." 


10.  CONCLUSION. 

The  question  may  finally  be  asked :  Have  these  commercial  in- 
stitutions justified  their  existence?  The  facts  that  they  are  so 
well  patronized,  that  the  number  of  them  is  slowly  but  constantly 
increasing,  that  the  special  training  given  in  these  institutions  is 
more  and  more  in  demand,  give  a  sufficiently  satisfactory  answer. 

Professor  Dr.  M.  J.  Bonn,  director  of  the  Munich  Commercial 
College,  has  pointedly  stated  the  aim  of  these  institutions,  by  declar- 
ing that  the  student  should  acquire  "  the  commercial  spirit,"  viz., 
he  should  be  able  to  see  the  commercial  situation  in  its  true 
light,  he  should  then  possess  the  initiative  to  utilize  this  knowledge 
of  the  situation  to  his  advantage,  and  finally  he  should  have 
business  sagacity  enough  to  predict  with  fair  accuracy  the  future 
trend  of  his  own  particular  chosen  business.  This  commercial 
spirit  is  the  basis  of  all  success.  But  it  can  not  be  emphasized  jop 
strongly  that  this  commercial  spirit  must  be  counter-balanced  by  a 
broad  and  liberal  education  to  prevent  the  business  man  from 
running  into  a  rut  and  being  reduced  to  a  calculating  mechanism. 
He  should  be  not  only  an  efficient  business  man  but  also  a  thor- 
oughly educated  gentleman,  broad-minded,  with  liberal  ideas,  con- 
versant on  all  topics  and  thoroughly  abreast  and  in  sympathy  with 
the  times.  He  should  be  sufficiently  conservative  to  appreciate 
the  good  in  the  old  and  sufficiently  progressive  to  see  and  to  adopt 
the  advantages  of  the  new.  Above  all,  he  should  be  able  to 
think  and  to  think  rapidly,  accurately  and  deeply.  Such  men  will 
necessarily  meet  with  success  in  life.  The  man  who  can  prove 
that  he  possesses  "  capital-producing  "  abilities  is  sought  by  capital 
more  than  anything  else.  Carnegie  once  declared  that  every 
larger  firm  or  organization  is  constantly  searching  for  able  and 
trained  men;  no  article  in  the  world's  market  is  so  much  in  de- 
mand, none  is  so  high  in  price. 

In  1904  Professor  Herrick,  formerly  of  Philadelphia,  stated  that 
the  entire  system  of  German  commercial  education  "may  be 
charged  with  the  defects  of  its  virtues ;  those  trained  in  it  are  well 
disciplined,  but  they  are  mechanical,  and  sadly  lacking  in  the  indi- 
viduality and  initiative  so  characteristic  of  those  trained  in  the 
schools  of  England  and  America."  This  charge  was  based  upon 
observations,  made  prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  last  three 

36 


CONCLUSION.. '  *'\t.,'  I     • . " ' \  ?  • '  '  -' '37 

colleges  named  and  when  the  first  three  were  still  in  their  in- 
fancy and  could  not  have  any  appreciable  effect  upon  contempo- 
rary business  life.  This  criticism  may  in  a  measure  be  verified 
with  reference  to  the  commercial  "middle  schools"  (similar  to 
our  "high  schools")  but  it  lacks  all  justification  when  made  in 
regard  to  these  colleges.  Even  the  "  middle  schools  "  have  been 
constantly  improved  since  the  above  criticism  was  made,  so  that 
Dr.  William  Maxwell,  one  of  the  advanced  educational  thinkers 
of  the  present  time,  in  an  address  made  December,  191 2,  in  Cooper 
Union,  New  York  City,  could  compliment  the  Leipzic  commercial 
school  by  stating  that  New  York  City's  High  School  of  Com- 
merce was  modeled  closely  after  that  excellent  institution. 

In  conclusion  let  us  note  some  expressions  of  opinion  upon 
higher  commercial  education  in  Germany  by  several  leading 
American  educators,  who,  through  years  of  study  and  close  obser- 
vation, have  become  authorities  on  such  matters. 

In  an  address  before  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  California, 
President  Wheeler,  who  spent  years  of  study  in  Germany  and 
who,  some  time  ago,  was  exchange  professor  in  Berlin,  stated, 
in  part :  "  Germany  led  the  way  in  applying  what  the  university 
had  to  teach  to  commerce  and  commercial  problems.  It  has  pre- 
eminence in  production  of  dye  stuffs  as  it  was  the  first  to  ex- 
periment with  beet  root  culture.  Men  said  of  both  that  they  were 
vagaries  of  university  men.  You  go  out  to-day  into  the  nearer 
East  and  find  in  Asia  Minor,  in  Turkey,  in  Greece, — find  every- 
where the  German  consul  as  a  trade  agent.  He  can  speak  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country,  read  its  newspapers,  in  short,  is  an  integral 
part  of  the  community.  It  is  this  '  practical '  diplomacy,  as  much 
as  political  diplomacy,  that  has  made  Germany  what  it  is  to-day. 
But  never  yet  was  a  German  consul  appointed  because  he  was 
'some  body's  man,'  but  because  he  was  'the'  man  for  the 
position." 

Showing  the  need  for  a  higher  training  of  our  own  business 
men,  he  continues :  "  American  merchants  have  found  out  that  we 
have  become  an  exporting  nation.  Our  politicians  have  exerted 
all  efforts  to  devise  means  to  keep  other  people's  wares  out  of  the 
market,  but  now  we  ought  to  exert  all  efforts  to  trade  with  the 
whole  world." 

Dr.  Edmund  James,  president  of  the  State  University  of  Illi- 
nois, recently  said:  "We  Americans  can  learn  more  from  Ger- 
many than  from  any  other  country.     A  land  not  as  large  as  Texas 


\J 


■>   '• 


38^"".^  >  .'.■■'    COMMERCIAL   COLLEGES   IN   GERMANY. 

which  nevertheless  supports  a  population  two  thirds  as  large  as 
that  of  the  United  States  deserves  to  be  studied  more  closely.  As 
an  industrial  state,  Germany  to-day  stands  in  the  front  rank ;  Ger- 
man science  occupies  the  first  place  and  also  German  literature  and 
art  can  favorably  be  compared  with  any  other  art  and  literature." 

Professor  Richard  T.  Ely  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  just 
returning  from  a  year  of  study  spent  in  Germany,  published  the 
following  interesting  observations:  "The  progress  which  Ger- 
many has  made  during  the  past  20  years  is  eminent  in  every  re- 
spect. Like  a  father  the  state  cares  for  its  people.  Every  Ger- 
man, who  has  not  a  definite  income,  as  well  as  every  official,  must 
insure  himself  against  accidents,  sickness,  etc.  The  state  expends 
large  sums  annually,  in  order  to  establish  continuation  schools, 
in  which  young  laborers  receive  free  instruction." 

The  commercial  colleges  of  Germany  however  are  not  only  train- 
ing the  leaders  in  business  life,  but  are  also  destined  to  be  the  real 
training  schools  for  the  men  of  public  affairs,  for  city  and  state 
officials,  for  domestic  and  diplomatic  service.  In  performing  this 
function  these  commercial  colleges  will  exert  the  greatest  in- 
fluence upon  both  the  commercial  and  the  political  development 
of  the  country  and  will  thus  become  important  factors  in  main- 
taining Germany  in  the  present  prominent  place  which  it  occupies 
in  the  council  of  the  world's  great  commercial  powers. 


y^^^ssssm 


UNIVEESITY  OF  CALIFOENIA  LIBEARY 
BEEKELEY 


m^ 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 

STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  per  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


r  v^vv/^/cX(^^ 


v^^O 


XC  9150 


M 


311501 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNIA  LIBRARY 


